scholarly journals A Novel Mechanism for Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Localization

2004 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 4457-4466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Bind ◽  
Yelena Kleyner ◽  
Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk ◽  
Emily Bien ◽  
Brian David Dynlacht ◽  
...  

Mitogen-activated protein kinases/extracellular signal regulated kinases (MAPKs/ERKs) are typically thought to be soluble cytoplasmic enzymes that translocate to the nucleus subsequent to their phosphorylation by their activating kinases or mitogen-activated protein/extracellular signal regulated kinase kinase. We report here the first example of nuclear translocation of a MAPK that occurs via temporally regulated exit from a membranous organelle. Confocal microscopy examining the subcellular localization of ERK3 in several cell lines indicated that this enzyme was targeted to the Golgi/endoplasmic reticulum Golgi intermediate compartment. Deletion analysis of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-ERK3 uncovered a nuclear form that was carboxy-terminally truncated and established a Golgi targeting motif at the carboxy terminus. Immunoblot analysis of cells treated with the proteasome inhibitor MG132 further revealed two cleavage products, suggesting that in vivo, carboxy-terminal cleavage of the full-length protein controls its subcellular localization. In support of this hypothesis, we found that deletion of a small region rich in acidic residues within the carboxy terminus eliminated both the cleavage and nuclear translocation of GFP-ERK3. Finally, cell cycle synchronization studies revealed that the subcellular localization of ERK3 is temporally regulated. These data suggest a novel mechanism for the localization of an MAPK family member, ERK3, in which cell cycle-regulated, site-specific proteolysis generates the nuclear form of the protein.

2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 854-864 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandrine Marchetti ◽  
Clotilde Gimond ◽  
Jean-Claude Chambard ◽  
Thomas Touboul ◽  
Danièle Roux ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase phosphatases (MKPs) are dual-specificity phosphatases that dephosphorylate phosphothreonine and phosphotyrosine residues within MAP kinases. Here, we describe a novel posttranslational mechanism for regulating MKP-3/Pyst1/DUSP6, a member of the MKP family that is highly specific for extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) inactivation. Using a fibroblast model in which the expression of either MKP-3 or a more stable MKP-3-green fluorescent protein (GFP) chimera was induced by tetracycline, we found that serum induces the phosphorylation of MKP-3 and its subsequent degradation by the proteasome in a MEK1 and MEK2 (MEK1/2)-ERK1/2-dependent manner. In vitro phosphorylation assays using glutathione S-transferase (GST)-MKP-3 fusion proteins indicated that ERK2 could phosphorylate MKP-3 on serines 159 and 197. Tetracycline-inducible cell clones expressing either single or double serine mutants of MKP-3 or MKP-3-GFP confirmed that these two sites are targeted by the MEK1/2-ERK1/2 module in vivo. Double serine mutants of MKP-3 or MKP-3-GFP were more efficiently protected from degradation than single mutants or wild-type MKP-3, indicating that phosphorylation of either serine by ERK1/2 enhances proteasomal degradation of MKP-3. Hence, double mutation caused a threefold increase in the half-life of MKP-3. Finally, we show that the phosphorylation of MKP-3 has no effect on its catalytic activity. Thus, ERK1/2 exert a positive feedback loop on their own activity by promoting the degradation of MKP-3, one of their major inactivators in the cytosol, a situation opposite to that described for the nuclear phosphatase MKP-1.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 182
Author(s):  
Stella Baliou ◽  
Maria Goulielmaki ◽  
Petros Ioannou ◽  
Christina Cheimonidi ◽  
Ioannis P. Trougakos ◽  
...  

Background: Taurine (Tau) ameliorates cancer pathogenesis. Researchers have focused on the functional properties of bromamine T (BAT), a stable active bromine molecule. Both N-bromotaurine (TauNHBr) and BAT exert potent anti-inflammatory properties, but the landscape remains obscure concerning the anti-cancer effect of BAT. Methods: We used Crystal Violet, colony formation, flow cytometry and Western blot experiments to evaluate the effect of BAT and Tau on the apoptosis and autophagy of cancer cells. Xenograft experiments were used to determine the in vivo cytotoxicity of either agent. Results: We demonstrated that both BAT and Tau inhibited the growth of human colon, breast, cervical and skin cancer cell lines. Among them, BAT exerted the greatest cytotoxic effect on both RKO and MDA-MB-468 cells. In particular, BAT increased the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK½), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and extracellular-signal-regulated kinases (ERK½), thereby inducing mitochondrial apoptosis and autophagy in RKO cells. In contrast, Tau exerted its cytotoxic effect by upregulating JNK½ forms, thus triggering mitochondrial apoptosis in RKO cells. Accordingly, colon cancer growth was impaired in vivo. Conclusions: BAT and Tau exerted their anti-tumor properties through the induction of (i) mitochondrial apoptosis, (ii) the MAPK family, and iii) autophagy, providing novel anti-cancer therapeutic modalities.


2000 ◽  
Vol 278 (4) ◽  
pp. C697-C708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergey Chupreta ◽  
Ming Du ◽  
Andrea Todisco ◽  
Juanita L. Merchant

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor activation stimulates gastrin gene expression through a GC-rich element called gastrin EGF response element (gERE). This element is bound by Sp1 family members and is a target of the ras-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk) signal transduction cascade. This raised the possibility that Sp1 may be phosphorylated by kinases of this signaling pathway. Erk is capable of phosphorylating other mitogen-inducible transcription factors, e.g., Elk and Sap, suggesting that Erk may also mediate EGF-dependent phosphorylation of Sp1. This possibility was tested by studying Sp1-dependent kinase activity in extracts prepared from EGF-activated AGS cells by use of solid-phase kinase assays and immunoprecipitation of metabolically labeled Sp1. The results revealed that Sp1 kinase activity (like gastrin promoter activation) is inhibited by PD-98059 and, therefore, is dependent on mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1 (Mek 1). However, EGF-dependent activation of endogenous Erk did not account for most of the Sp1 kinase activity, since Erk and additional Sp1 kinase activity analyzed in a solid-phase kinase assay eluted from an ion-exchange column in different fractions. Phosphoamino acid analysis of in vivo radiolabeled Sp1 demonstrated that the kinase phosphorylates Sp1 on Ser and Thr in response to EGF. Therefore, most EGF-stimulated Sp1 kinase activity is Mek 1 dependent and distinct from Erk.


1997 ◽  
Vol 110 (12) ◽  
pp. 1373-1386 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.R. Walker ◽  
C.B. Shuster ◽  
D.R. Burgess

Research over the past few years has demonstrated the central role of protein phosphorylation in regulating mitosis and the cell cycle. However, little is known about how the mechanisms regulating the entry into mitosis contribute to the positional and temporal regulation of the actomyosin-based contractile ring formed during cytokinesis. Recent studies implicate p34cdc2 as a negative regulator of myosin II activity, suggesting a link between the mitotic cycle and cytokinesis. In an effort to study the relationship between protein phosphorylation and cytokinesis, we examined the in vivo and in vitro phosphorylation of actin-associated cortical cytoskeletal (CSK) proteins in an isolated model of the sea urchin egg cortex. Examination of cortices derived from eggs or zygotes labeled with 32P-orthophosphate reveals a number of cortex-associated phosphorylated proteins, including polypeptides of 20, 43 and 66 kDa. These three major phosphoproteins are also detected when isolated cortices are incubated with [32P]ATP in vitro, suggesting that the kinases that phosphorylate these substrates are also specifically associated with the cortex. The kinase activities in vivo and in vitro are stimulated by fertilization and display cell cycle-dependent activities. Gel autophosphorylation assays, kinase assays and immunoblot analysis reveal the presence of p34cdc2 as well as members of the mitogen-activated protein kinase family, whose activities in the CSK peak at cell division. Nocodazole, which inhibits microtubule formation and thus blocks cytokinesis, significantly delays the time of peak cortical protein phosphorylation as well as the peak in whole-cell histone H1 kinase activity. These results suggest that a key element regulating cortical contraction during cytokinesis is the timing of protein kinase activities associated with the cortical cytoskeleton that is in turn regulated by the mitotic apparatus.


2001 ◽  
Vol 280 (5) ◽  
pp. R1555-R1563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Douglas ◽  
Tian Xu ◽  
Gabriel G. Haddad

We and others recently demonstrated that Drosophila melanogaster embryos arrest development and embryonic cells cease dividing when they are deprived of O2. To further characterize the behavior of these embryos in response to O2 deprivation and to define the O2-sensitive checkpoints in the cell cycle, embryos undergoing nuclear cycles 3–13 were subjected to O2deprivation and examined by confocal microscopy under control, hypoxic, and reoxygenation conditions. In vivo, real-time analysis of embryos carrying green fluorescent protein-kinesin demonstrated that cells arrest at two major points of the cell cycle, either at the interphase (before DNA duplication) or at metaphase, depending on the cell cycle phase at which O2 deprivation was induced. Immunoblot analysis of embryos whose cell divisions are synchronized by inducible String (cdc25 homolog) demonstrated that cyclin B was degraded during low O2 conditions in interphase-arrested embryos but not in those arrested in metaphase. Embryos resumed cell cycle activity within ∼20 min of reoxygenation, with very little apparent change in cell cycle kinetics. We conclude that there are specific points during the embryonic cell cycle that are sensitive to the O2 level in D. melanogaster. Given the fact that O2deprivation also influences the growth and development of other species, we suggest that similar hypoxia-sensitive cell cycle checkpoints may also exist in mammalian cells.


2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
James N Hislop ◽  
Christopher J Caunt ◽  
Kathleen R Sedgley ◽  
Eammon Kelly ◽  
Stuart Mundell ◽  
...  

Activation of seven-transmembrane receptors is typically followed by desensitization and arrestin-dependent internalization via vesicles that are pinched off by a dynamin collar. Arrestins also scaffold Src, which mediates dynamin-dependent internalization of β2-adrenergic receptors. Type I mammalian gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptors (GnRHRs) do not rapidly desensitize or internalize (characteristics attributed to their unique lack of C-terminal tails) whereas non-mammalian GnRHRs (that have C-terminal tails) are rapidly internalized and desensitized. Moreover, internalization of Xenopus (X) GnRHRs is dynamin-dependent whereas that of human (h) GnRHRs is not, raising the possibility that binding of arrestin to the C-terminal tails of GnRHRs targets them to the dynamin-dependent internalization pathway. To test this we have compared wild-type GnRHRs with chimeric receptors (XGnRHR C-terminal tail added to the hGnRHR alone (h.XtGnRHR) or with exchange of the third intracellular loops (h.Xl.XtGnRHR)). We show that adding the XGnRHR C-terminal tail facilitates arrestin- and dynamin-dependent internalization as well as arrestin/green fluorescent protein translocation, but Src (or mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular-signal-regulated kinase kinase) inhibition does not slow internalization, and h.XtGnRHR internalization is slower than that of the hGnRHR. Moreover, arrestin expression increased XGnRHR internalization even when dynamin was inhibited and h.Xl.XtGnRHR underwent rapid arrestin-dependent internalization without signaling to Gq/11. Thus, although the C-terminal tail can direct GnRHRs for arrestin- and dynamin-dependent internalization, this effect is not dependent on Src activation and arrestin can also facilitate dynamin-independent internalization.


2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 1081-1095 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole H. Purcell ◽  
Dina Darwis ◽  
Orlando F. Bueno ◽  
Judith M. Müller ◽  
Roland Schüle ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway regulates diverse biologic functions including cell growth, differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis. The extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) constitute one branch of the MAPK pathway that has been implicated in the regulation of cardiac differentiated growth, although the downstream mechanisms whereby ERK signaling affects this process are not well characterized. Here we performed a yeast two-hybrid screen with ERK2 bait and a cardiac cDNA library to identify novel proteins involved in regulating ERK signaling in cardiomyocytes. This screen identified the LIM-only factor FHL2 as an ERK interacting protein in both yeast and mammalian cells. In vivo, FHL2 and ERK2 colocalized in the cytoplasm at the level of the Z-line, and interestingly, FHL2 interacted more efficiently with the activated form of ERK2 than with the dephosphorylated form. ERK2 also interacted with FHL1 and FHL3 but not with the muscle LIM protein. Moreover, at least two LIM domains in FHL2 were required to mediate efficient interaction with ERK2. The interaction between ERK2 and FHL2 did not influence ERK1/2 activation, nor was FHL2 directly phosphorylated by ERK2. However, FHL2 inhibited the ability of activated ERK2 to reside within the nucleus, thus blocking ERK-dependent transcriptional responsiveness of ELK-1, GATA4, and the atrial natriuretic factor promoter. Finally, FHL2 partially antagonized the cardiac hypertrophic response induced by activated MEK-1, GATA4, and phenylephrine agonist stimulation. Collectively, these results suggest that FHL2 serves a repressor function in cardiomyocytes through its ability to inhibit ERK1/2 transcriptional coupling.


2018 ◽  
Vol 108 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Flores ◽  
Suresh Singh Yadav ◽  
Arieh A. Katz ◽  
Rony Seger

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are central signaling pathways that play a central role in the regulation of most stimulated cellular processes including proliferation, differentiation, stress response and apoptosis. Currently 4 such cascades are known, each termed by its downstream MAPK components: the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), cJun-N-terminal kinase (JNK), p38 and ERK5. One of the hallmarks of these cascades is the stimulated nuclear translocation of their MAPK components using distinct mechanisms. ERK1/2 are shuttled into the nucleus by importin7, JNK and p38 by a dimer of importin3 with either importin9 or importin7, and ERK5 by importin-α/β. Dysregulation of these cascades often results in diseases, including cancer and inflammation, as well as developmental and neurological disorders. Much effort has been invested over the years in developing inhibitors to the MAPK cascades to combat these diseases. Although some inhibitors are already in clinical use or clinical trials, their effects are hampered by development of resistance or adverse side-effects. Recently, our group developed 2 myristoylated peptides: EPE peptide, which inhibits the interaction of ERK1/2 with importin7, and PERY peptide, which prevents JNK/p38 interaction with either importin7 or importin9. These peptides block the nuclear translocation of their corresponding kinases, resulting in prevention of several cancers, while the PERY peptide also inhibits inflammation-induced diseases. These peptides provide a proof of concept for the use of the nuclear translocation of MAPKs as therapeutic targets for cancer and/or inflammation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document